The Government through the Ministry of Housing, Community & Local Government (MHCLG) has today issued a consultation paper on its vision for the Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Arc. The MHCLG is seeking views from the public that will help to create the vision for the OxCam Spatial Framework, which is to guide the future growth of the area from now to 2050.
What is the OxCam Arc?
The OxCam arc area spans the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. This area is covered by 18 local planning authorities, including South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City. Both these authorities use the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service for their Planning function.
MHCLG describes the OxCam Arc as a “national economic priority area”. It stats the area has potential to be one of the most prosperous, innovative and sustainable economic areas in the world. And believes it can make a major contribution to national economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19
What is the OxCam Spatial Framework
This consultation paper is called “Creating a vision for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc”. This vision is expressed in the framework. The Spatial Framework will be a long-term strategic plan for the area, developed by the government, and informed by engaging with local communities and stakeholders. I
The Spatial Framework is to have sustainability at its core and guide planning decisions and investment under four policy ‘pillars’:
- the environment
- the economy
- connectivity and infrastructure
- place making
It is worth noting that this current consultation follows on from an earlier Policy Paper that the MHCLG published in February 2021. That policy paper sets out the government’s proposed approach to developing a long-term spatial planning framework for the OxCam arc. In effect, Government expects that the spatial framework will have the status of national planning and transport policy. It also says the framework should help guide local planning and investment. This means when making our Greater Cambridge Local Plan, we must take into consideration the vision in the OxCam spatial framework.
Why Is This Consultation Important to us?
We are currently preparing our Greater Cambridge Local Plan together with Cambridge City. It is important to us in South Cambridgeshire because of the impact that it will have on what we build, where we build and how we build into the future. The East West Rail project is a fundamental part of this OxCam Arc plan. Let us look at some of the policy pillars mentioned earlier
Economy Pillar
Connectivity Pillar
Place Making Pillar
Environment Pillar
Conclusion
This is a very important national strategic project that affects our district. We have already seen the potential impact of parts of the plan, specifically the East West Rail proposals. This is the opportunity for us to tell the Government what we think and to influence the OxCam Spatial Framework.
Consultation started on 20 July 2021 and closes on 12th October 2021 at 11:45PM. It is on the Government website here. Please share this with your neighbours in the village. Thank you.